1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anti-friction article adapted for use in combination with a ski binding, and more particularly to an apparatus in the form of a plate adapted to support the sole of a ski boot.
2. Description of Prior Art
In skiing, the ski boot is bound to the ski in a manner so as to be freed or released when the boot is subjected to forces exceeding a certain intensity by means of ski bindings which maintain this boot. During release or freeing of the boot there is friction between the sole and, the jaw of the binding and the ski on which the boot rests. The frictional forces are resistance forces which resist displacement of the boot. Thus, to obtain a release force which is as constant as possible it is necessary to minimize and control these forces. Furthermore, in the case where the force on the boot is insufficient to cause the rejection of the boot, it is imperative that the binding be allowed to return to the centered position in an accurate, simple and precise manner. Once again the frictional forces are particularly troublesome and must be reduced to the maximum extent possible.
To improve and control the frictional conditions, the most commonly utilized present solution comprises interposing between the ski, or even the jaw and the sole, plate made of a material having a very low coefficient to friction with respect to the material of the ski boot sole. Fluorocarbon resins such as polytetrafluorethylene or ethylenepropyleneflouride are particularly well suited to this purpose. Most often, the plate is glued on. These resins possess an exceptionally low coefficient of friction which they maintain over very broad temperature ranges. However. these materials, by virtue of their non-stick quality, raise a certain number of problems when it becomes a question of gluing these materials to one another or onto a support made of a different material such as aluminum, polyethylene or ABS. For reasons of simplicity of manufacture, the gluing of the plates in a ski binding is achieved either by employing a double surface adhesive, or by the use of a glue of the cyanoacrylate or isocyanate acrylic type. However, in both cases, the surface of the plate which is to be glued, must be subjected to a pretreatment to assure the proper adhesion of the glue. The method of treatment comprises modifying the chemical structure of the surface to be glued in a fashion so as to destroy its non-stick characteristics in the places where pretreatment is performed. Various treatments can be utilized: among which sodium and ammonia, or further the method of sodium and naphthalene, by way of example. Presently, the plates made of polytetrafluoroethylene utilized in bindings are all white. However, white plates made of polytetrafluoroethylene are not without inconvenience because they become unglued after exposure to the sun. This is particularly serious because skiing is most often done in the sun under intense ultraviolet radiation, and the ungluing of the plates. This endangers the proper operation of the binding and can even cause a break of the skiers leg, which of course is exactly the opposite of the aim of the binding itself, which is to provide additional and not reduced safety to the skier.